“Hepatitis” means “inflammation of the liver” and can be caused by a virus called Hepatitis B and more recently other subtypes C, D, E, F and G are reported to cause human hepatitis. Other types of infection (bacteria, fungal and TB), toxic drugs, poisons, alcoholism, vascular disorders and immune system diseases also cause hepatitis in humans.
It is estimated that 350 million people are infected with hepatitis-B virus worldwide. Around 50 million cases diagnosed annually. The carrier rate is as high as 20% in people from Asia and Africa. Hepatitis B is usually transmitted through blood transfusion, sexual contact, and saliva. It can be transmitted from infected mothers to newborn infants and become persistent HBV carriers. A chronic HBV infection can be entirely benign with normal liver blood tests (chronic carrier state) or may be an aggressive inflammation process that can lead to severe cirrhosis. The risk of liver cancer (hepatoma) is high in cirrhosis caused by HBV.
In the recent years, chemotherapy for hepatits and other liver disorders has witnessed tremendous activity and resulted into two FDA approved treatments for hepatitis B. The first drug Intron A (interferon alfa-2b) gives 20% lasting response in treated patients. A new drug, Lamivudine is under intense investigation with respect to its role in the management of Hepatitis B. According to Dienstag et al., Lamivudine mono therapy in hepatitis patients for one year had shown positive effect with respect to histology, virulence and biochemical features. Other drugs, which are under development, are Peginterferon alfa-2a (Pegasys), Emtricitabine and Zadaxin (thymosin-alpha) etc.
There are many herbal compositions that have been developed for hepatoprotective and acute hepatitis diseases that comprises Andrographis paniculata, Phyllanthus amarus, Phyllanthus niruri, Eclipta alba, Salvia miltiorrhiza, Panax ginseng, Licorice Root, Piccrorhiza kurroa, Tinospora cordifolia and Cichorium intybus etc.
To overcome the challenges posed by hepatitis B and other subtype viral infections, major research activities have been directed at developing new pharmaceutical formulations, which are in turn aimed at developing a formulation to have antiviral property, anti HbsAg activity, hepatoprotective activity and immunomodulating activity. The recent research is also aimed at safe and effective treatments for Hepatitis B virus infections, hepato cellular carcinoma, and hepatoprotective and immunomodulation activities.